The Golden State Warriors will need to make significant roster improvements this coming season if they plan to compete in the West. What can the Warriors do?
Warriors Targeting Impactful Guard To Play Next To Steph Curry
Golden State is coming off its worst season since winning 15 games in the Covid-shortened 2019-20 campaign. The Warriors finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 37-45 record, 12 games behind sixth-place Minnesota and 24 games back of Oklahoma City. They fell to the Phoenix Suns in the last Play-In contest, marking the fourth time in the last seven seasons the Dubs have missed the playoffs.
Golden State ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive (19th) and defensive (19th) ratings. The Warriors were not a great shooting team, connecting on just 46.1% of their field-goal attempts (24th) and 35.6% of their 3-point attempts. They also struggled on the boards and with turnovers.
Granted, injuries played a major part in the Warriors’ struggles. De’Anthony Melton (51), Al Horford (47 games), Stephen Curry (45 games), and Jimmy Butler (38) played in a combined 181 games out of a possible 334 (including NBA Play-In games). Additionally, Moses Moody missed 24 games, and Kristaps Porzingis sat out 16 of his 33 contests with the Dubs.
What Can the Warriors Do This Offseason?
More significantly, the Warriors enter the offseason with just nine players under contract with a salary cap hit of $181 million. The Warriors are over the cap, though they are about $20 million under the tax threshold. Draymond Green ($27.6 million) holds a player option, which he is expected to exercise or renegotiate to a more team-friendly deal. Meanwhile, Horford’s ($5.96 million player option) and Melton’s ($3.4 million) status is up in the air. The Warriors own the No. 11 pick and the No. 54 selection in June’s draft.
While Steve Kerr is back at the helm for his 13th season, general manager Mike Dunleavy has lots of important decisions. Dunleavy is expected to keep their older core of Curry, Green, and Butler together. But, Butler and Moody are expected to be out at least until December as they continue to recover from their major injuries.
Golden State also lacks frontcourt or point guard depth. The Warriors do own Porzingis’ Bird rights, and he may return, but at a much lower cost than his 2024-25 salary ($30.7 million). They, as usual, have been linked to several stars, whether via trade or free agency: namely, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.
James may be a possibility if he wants to play with Curry and is willing to sign a team-friendly deal. However, it doesn’t sound like Antetokounmpo will be headed to the Bay Area.
“I think [the Warriors] are not 1st in line, not 2nd, or 3rd in line, really, at this point as far as packages that appeal most to Milwaukee [for Giannis], ESPN’s Anthony Slater said recently on 95.7 The Game.
"I think [the Warriors] are not 1st in line, not 2nd, or 3rd in line really at this point as far as packages that appeal most to Milwaukee [for Giannis]." 🤦♂️
– @anthonyVslater on @WillardAndDibs. pic.twitter.com/5SJ9sdusH1
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 20, 2026
“The Warriors don’t have the same ‘level of thirst’ to go big-game hunting, as they’ve had over the last 18 months,” Slater continued. “The Warriors probably want to add “a couple more mid-prime” guys to the roster this Summer. You don’t want to be loaded with 19-year-olds and 37-year-olds.”
Who Could The Warriors Target?
Golden State’s first decision will be what to do with the No. 11 pick? It may make sense for the Warriors to trade down in this year’s draft for a cheap young veteran and a first-round pick this year, as well as either a future first or second-round pick — last year, the Memphis Grizzlies sent Yang Hansen (No. 16 pick), a 2027 2nd round draft pick, a 2028 1st round draft pick and a 2028 2nd round draft pick to Portland for Cedric Coward (the No. 11 pick)
If the Warriors do decide to keep the 11th pick, they are projected to select Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Cameron Carr, Brayden Burries, or Labaron Philon. Lendeborg, who thrived on the backboards at UAB, demonstrated polish and two-way potential in his lone season at Michigan. Burries had an excellent freshman campaign at Arizona and would bring defense and spacing to the Warriors. Philon showed enormous growth in his second season at Alabama, with another scoring option and a secondary ballhandler.
“Other than Brooklyn and Atlanta, the third team that will really set the stage for what’s to come after them in the NBA Draft is the Golden State Warriors at No. 11 overall, ClutchPoints Brett Siegel said a couple of days ago. For starters, the Warriors are not 100% locked in to actually using this pick. If the Dubs do keep this pick, sources said the franchise will be prioritizing talents ready to play immediately during their rookie season.”
“Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton are two early names league sources have described as key Warriors targets as unrestricted free agents this summer, utilizing the mid-level exception,” Siegel continued. “The Dubs intend to add an impactful guard who can play on or off the ball alongside Steph Curry.”
Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
